Fastening for laced shoes, boots, or other articles



, A. D. ROSS.

FASTENING FOR' LACED SHOES, BOOTS, 0R OTHER ARTICLES APPLICATION FILEDNov. I5. I9I9.

1,368,971, Patented Feb.'15,1921.

g 3 INvI-:NToR

, ATTORNEY l ALFRED D. ROSS, 10F NEW YORK,

orFlcE.

y N. Y., assisnon rro ARTHUR B'oBBE, or NEW YORK, N gr. Y

To all 'whom t may concern: v

Be it known that I, ALFRED D. Ross, citizen of the United States, andresident of N ew York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fas teningsfor Laced Shoes, Boots, or @ther Articles, of which the following is aspecification.

'Ihe object of my invention is to produce a hook and eyelet used in thelacing of shoes, boots or' other articles in which the hook projectsaway from the eyelet and is turned under, so that itlies in aplanesubstantially parallel with the planeV of the shoe upper. The hook isalso provided with-a contracted portion forming a boss at the Y downwardAbend thereof so that the lace meets no sharp corners and can easilypass with free play when the hook is placed in angular alinement on theshoe upper.

2ther advantages to be derived from the use of this hook on shoes arethat there is absolutely no possibility of skirts, trousers, or otherclothing catching on or in the hook,

because of its smooth, rounded surface,

which eliminates such possibility; and further,-that the shoe can belaced with far less eort, and in considerably less time than by thepresent method used, especially on ladies shoes.

Figure l is a perspective view of a shoe intended for womens wearshowing the angular relation of the hooks and the lacing through thesame.

1ilig. 2 is an elevation of a portion of the slice upper, enlarged toshow the lacing and hooks in order to illustrate 'the invention. rilheeyelets usually located underneath the outer upper are indicated indotted lines.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective vieW of the complete hook and eyeletbefore it is inserted in the shoe'upper.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a detailed section enlarged for the purpose of showing 'theaction of the lace against the boss or contraction as hereinafterexplained.

In the figures, 1 is the shoe upper having inserted therein an eyelet 3,preferably in the manner shown in Fig. 4, that is it is punched throughan intermediate strip 4 lying between the outer layer 5 of the upperSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

` Application filed November 15, 1919. Serial No. 338,187.

and thestrip of leather lining 6 covering the extremity of the upper. Itwill be observed that this construction enables the inner lining of theupper to be entirely free from eyelet perforations and consequentlyprevents stockings from being' worn or torn as a result of the action ofsuch perforations on the stocking at these points. The hook 2 protrudesthrough the outer upper and has the following characteristics: It risesat 7 at substantially right angles to the plane ofthe upper mouth of theeyelet, and is here slightly indented at 8, so as to more substantiallystrengthen that part of the hook, This forms a concave surface facingoutwardly away from the eyelet, and turns at'substantiall-y right anglesto form face 9 lying substantially parallel with the plane of t ie outerupper. The turned under portion 10 of the hook is provided with a bossor portion 11, curved inwardly and contracted, and forming a seatagainst which the lace slides. It will be noted that this turned underportion is turned toward the face of the upper in a slightly diagonalposition, so that the hook end rests on a plane with the upper.

The lace is brought under the hook and into its proper place by a slightpull against portion 1l of the hook. The hooks are preferably placed atsubstantially 60 angles to the top of the upper, as shown. In slidingthrough the hook, the lace cannot be torn or injured by any of thesurfaces which it may pull against, for the projections S and 11 have nocorners to tear it. In Fig. 5 the action of the lace against the boss isshown, a result of the angular relation of the hook, upper, and lace.rlhe angular rew lation of the various parts of the hook are calculatedto retain the lace most securely and prevent accidental detachment,without the usual resultant wearing of the lace. The construction of thehook is such that, while it requires absolutely no effort in lacing, itis still quite impossible for the lace to come out of place, unlessdeliberately pulled through and out of the hook. In unlacing,

the lace is pulled out, as if from an eyelet.

The hook and eyelet is especially adapted for womens shoes although itmay be used on other shoes, boots or any article employing this class oflacing, such as gloves, corsets, traveling bags, etc.

Having claim is: Y

l. A hook and eyelet for laced shoes or described my invention what I lother articles comprising an eyelet anda hook having a portion extendingdirectly upward from one side of the upper rim of the eyelet, and bentat anangleto form Jche upperace of the hook lying in a planesubstantially` parallel with the face of thefshoeznpperV and the upperrim of the eyelet, and then turned downward toward the l:face of theupper:

2. A hook and eyelet for laced Shoesor other x.articles Vcomprising aneyelet and a hook having a portion extending 'directlyY upward'from oneside of theupper rim of the eyelet, and bent at an angle to form theupper face of thehook lying in a plane subl vstantially parallel withthe faeeof the 4Shoe upper and the upper rim of the eyelet, and thenturned downward toward .the face of the Upper, such hook being placed-at an angle of lsubstantially sixty degrees to the top of the shoeupper, and havinga contracted boss at points where thehook bears againstthe lace.

3. A hook and eyelet :for laced shoes or other articles comprising aneyelet restingV in an interlining strip between the Vouter Shoe'V upperand an inner lin1ng,an'd,a

hook having a portion I extending directly upward 'from one side of theupper rim of the-eyelet, and bent at an angle to form the upper'face-.0f the'rhoogk lying in agplanesubstantially parallel with the faceof the shoe upper and the upper rim of the eyelet, land:.thennfturnedrdoavnward:toward the face of the upper.

.4. Alhook and eyelet for laced shoes'or other articles coxnprising aneyelet resting in an interlining strip between the outer top 'of l`theshoe upper, and having acon- Y tracted bossntpoints where 'the vhookbears against thez lace. A'

`Signed at vrNew "York, [inv 'the ,county of' NewYork and'State ,oflNew'York, this 11th day of November, Afl). 1919. Y i

Y .ALFRED n'aoss;

